America's Oldest Irish Pub Is A Quirky New York Gem Full Of History, Unique Traditions, And Rustic Charm

The oldest Irish pub in America is an authentic ale house situated in Manhattan's East Village, and is so beloved that the ashes of several of its deceased regulars reside in various containers — including a flask — behind the bar. McSorley's Old Ale House has continuously served its time-honored light ale and dark ale, two glasses at a time, from its original location that opened its doors on East 7th Street in 1854. Since then, it has continuously operated as a pub, even through the Prohibition era in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Today, McSorley's is a New York staple, a slice of Americana in one of the city's most celebrated neighborhoods. You can't miss it on a walk through the Village, an underrated endeavor for any visitor to the Big Apple and easily among the best budget-friendly outdoor activities in New York City. Over the years, its patrons have included presidents and authors, as well as beloved musicians, poets, and athletes. And each of them, upon ordering either the light ale or the dark ale, had their frothy beverage delivered with a uniquely McSorley's side dish — a plate of saltine crackers, sliced sharp cheddar cheese, and sliced white onion. The appetizer is still alive and well today, and, as of my last visit to this historic watering hole, still an excellent accompaniment to a cold draft ale.

Originally named The Old House at Home by founder and Irish immigrant John McSorley, who fled the Irish potato famine in the early 1850s, it was here where upstart politician Abraham Lincoln, after delivering his famous anti-slavery speech to the Cooper Union at Henry Ward Beecher's church across the East River in Brooklyn, stopped for a drink. Over the years, the bar has served some of the world's most beloved beer drinkers, including the likes of Woody Guthrie, Frank Sinatra, and Babe Ruth. If you look close enough, you'll see a pair of Harry Houdini's handcuffs locked above the ice chest. Poet E.E. Cummings was a regular and penned "I was Sitting in McSorley's" from this cherished bar.

Not only are its famous customers part of its lore — add John Lennon and Hunter S. Thompson to its list of dignitaries — but its masculine past is also the stuff of legends. On my last visit, about a decade ago, the bar menu included a clipping from an old 1913 magazine article from Harper's Weekly that described the establishment as a place where men "are maturely reflecting in purely male ways and solemnly discoursing, untroubled by skirts or domesticity." Indeed, until 1970, when the U.S. Supreme Court itself interjected, women were not allowed inside McSorley's. Even then, the first women's restroom wasn't installed in the bar until 1986. The Irish bar's late-to-the-party embrace of female customers belies the fact that Ireland itself is among the five European countries considered the safest and most welcoming.

When you walk in today, it's like stepping into a New York time capsule, and if you're a lover of old bars with great stories, like I am, you'll be over the moon for McSorley's. There's scarcely a blank spot on the walls, all of which are adorned with framed photographs deemed of importance at one time or another. Its sawdusted wood floor, rough-hewn bar, and darkly stained tongue-and-groove ceiling coupled with the sensory overload of so much old-school decor give the establishment a very Old World feel. And that, of course, was intentional, even in the 1850s, when the bar was just finding its legs. Old John McSorley crafted the bar from memories of the Irish pubs of his native land. But the cheese and onion plate? That's likely a product of the austere times the bar has witnessed, and not exactly what you expect your meals to be like when visiting Ireland.

If you find yourself in the East Village (or in nearby Washington Square), and you're after an authentic New York City bar fix, McSorley's is a must-see. It's here where, perhaps, the idea of the "locals bar" first came to be in the United States, and it's fitting that it persists in the Village, where the only constant is the hum of change. That McSorley's is still standing in its original location after 171 years is miraculous. And that, alone, makes a stop worthwhile. Step in. Look around. Order a dark ale and take a bite of that pungent side dish and be glad that all are welcome today, and that history continues to live here.